


Marching On

by likebunnies



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: American Revolution, Civil War, Friendship, Gen, Partnership
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-03
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-29 17:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5136992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likebunnies/pseuds/likebunnies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Abbie teaches Crane about the American Civil War and how it changed the country.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Marching On

**Author's Note:**

> I've always wondered why the show never discussed this topic. Obviously Ichabod Crane has learned a lot about the history he missed since he arrived in the 21st century but you'd think this would be important since he brings up emancipation in the very first episode. Anyway, this is my take on it. I posted a hasty version of this on my Tumblr when I was tagged to do a five minute writing exercise. This has been changed and edited since that version.

It had taken them a while to cover this part of American history, skipping around it as much as possible, avoiding it until Abbie thought Crane was ready to take on another war. A war that he didn't live through but that was documented in pictures and stories and could be directly correlated to actions of the founding fathers he loved so dearly. A war that picked, prodded, and nagged at the American psyche like no other war before it or after. 

They started by watching a few things on the Civil War on the History Channel and Crane read a fair number of books he checked out from the library. He was fascinated by the works of Foote and by Catton and read biographies on Lee and Grant and other figures such as Douglass and Sherman but he never said much to Abbie after he finished book after book. He sat on the couch beside her as they watched the long Ken Burns documentary on Netflix, the mournful music punctuating the sad history, and didn't say a word. She shared with him the movie 'Glory' and waited for his commentary but he had little to add. He looked up more about Fort Wagner the following day on the internet and read a few more books about specific battles, often making small comments about military tactics but not much else. 

Before he took his citizenship exam, they made a trip to Boston, to visit not only things he remembered but things that would be new to him. On their first day there, she took him to the Black Heritage Trail. To the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial. To the African Meeting House and the Museum of African American History. He looked more out of place on this tour than he normally did, like he made a wrong turn on his way to the Freedom Trail that they planned to see the next day. 

Neither of them seemed comfortable with his silence. His hand twitched as they listened to the tour guide, a knowledgeable young woman in a park ranger uniform. It was hard for Abbie to fathom him listening to someone without offering up the true history or his opinion. There was a large portion of American history he just didn't know everything about and this was some of it. She was also waiting for him to say something to make her smile like he often did. Those words never came. 

The sun was low in the sky as they were walking back to the hotel after sharing a light meal and a few beers at the end of a long day of touring. On the walk, Crane held her hand. She was startled at first by the gesture but let it slide without comment. He squeezed her small fingers in his in a reassuring fashion but she didn't know what he was trying to reassure her about. 

They arrived at the hotel she had booked, overlooking the harbor. It was way too expensive per night but she hadn't taken any time off in a long while and wanted to enjoy their night in Boston. They shared a room since this hardly seemed any different than living together. Of course, there were two beds. She got ready for bed and when she came out of the bathroom, Crane was already in his own bed, sleeping or at least pretending to do so. She got in her own bed, turned out the light, and quickly slipped into sleep herself. 

She woke at 2 a.m. and found his bed empty. Crane was silhouetted against the large window overlooking the harbor, staring out at the water, wearing only his shirt and the flannel pajama bottoms he had grown accustomed to sleeping in once he moved in with her. Abbie got out of her comfortable bed, shivered, and stood next to him, rubbing her arms for warmth.

“What's up?” she asked. Abbie looked up at him as he collected his thoughts, and she worried that he was going to start some sort of rant about something that was historically inaccurate about today. Or about how there were black troops in the American Revolution. Or tell her about some crazy incident that happened at the harbor besides the one incident everyone knows about anyway.

“I should have done more,” he said, still staring out at the water. The city lights were reflected off of the surface and it was really quite beautiful. “I could have done more. With the right people, it could have ended then.”

“Crane, you aren't responsible for all of history. You know that, don't you? You can't save the world from what already happened – not unless you want to go back and revisit the 18th century again. I think you like this century too much for that,” Abbie said. He turned to her and took her in his arms, holding her close. Her cheek was pressed against his chest as he gently rocked her, his hand cradling the back of her head as if she was the most precious thing he had ever held. 

“Every single living individual is responsible for history. Everyone can have an effect on it. Everyone. We should have done more when there was still a chance. All of us. The lives we could have saved –” Crane said before Abbie interrupted him, pulling back from his embrace and putting a finger on his lips to silence him. 

“We can't change that now. So we're going to change what we can and make sure that people never forget what happened and that the fight isn't over yet. Okay?” she said, pulling her finger away. He nodded, still holding her in his arms. They both looked out at the water and stood there without speaking for several minutes. Finally, Abbie broke the silence. “Crane, we are going to save the world, you and I. That's the best we can do.”


End file.
